MLBTR Originals

There was no shortage of insightful original work published here at MLBTR during a slow news week. Here's a refresher in case you missed any of it the first time around …

• The Cubs closed in on a deal with free agent catcher Jason Jaramillo, MLBTR's Tim Dierkes learned.
• The Blue Jays signed left-hander Aaron Laffey to a split contract, Tim learned.
• Luke Adams looked at Giants righty Matt Cain as an extension candidate.
• Tim broke down the combined payrolls of MLB's teams by division. Yes, the AL East is in the front of the pack.
• Tim listed the 10 best remaining free agents and their possible destinations.
• Which agencies and GMs are most prone to hammering out extensions? Tim had a look.
• Tim compiled a list of arbitration eligible players who are candidates to sign extensions.
• Is your team searching for some pop in its lineup? Mike Axisa rounded up a list of a dozen power hitters who are still on the free-agent market.
• The Rays are known for extending their young players and could buy out Matt Joyce's years of arbitration eligibility, explained Mike.
• While the Giants may be focused on extending Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain, Tim explored Madison Bumgarner's candidacy for an extension.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith checked in on the seven clubs that finished between 80-89 wins in 2011.
• With Phillies lefty Cole Hamels only a year away from a potential trip to free agency, Ben had a look at the southpaw's prospects for an extension.
• Ben examined what John Danks' extension could mean for Matt Garza, who is under team control for two more seasons.
• Tim held the weekly MLBTR chat. Here's the transcript.
• What have the teams with the lowest-scoring offenses in 2011 done so far this offseason? Ben checked in.
• Yu Darvish, Andrew Bailey and Michael Pineda were among the many topics covered in this week's batch of links from Baseball Blogs Weigh In, as rounded up by Mike.
• In an interesting thinkpiece, GMs from both the NBA and MLB spoke to Ben about what each sport can learn from the other.
• Mike compiled a list of remaining free agent relievers who have the ability to rack up strikeouts.
• Tyler Clippard has emerged as one of baseball's best relievers the past couple seasons, and he may be in line for an extension, as Mike explained.

The baseball world was busy this week (not so much this weekend), but we still provided a ton of original content. Let's recap the MLBTR week that was…

• First and firemost, we're launching a new NBA rumors site and are seeking part-time writers. Click here for all the details about the job and how to apply.
• Tim Dierkes took a look at the teams that have sat on the sidelines during free agency, and Ben Nicholson-Smith broke down the market for remaining free agent innings eaters.
• The White Sox locked up John Danks to a big extension, which Ben then broke down in terms of its impact on the team, the player, and around the league.
• Following the two big deals, we asked who won the Mat Latos trade and who won the Gio Gonzalez trade.
• Luke Adams examined Matt Cain as an extension candidate, and Howard Megdal listed the mystery team's roster.
• I rounded up the latest and greatest from around the web in this week's Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• Here is Ben's chat transcript.
• Looking to receive MLBTR updates on the go? Then sign up for our text message alerts.

Here's a look back at the original reporting and analysis produced by our writing staff this week..

• MLBTR learned that the Cubs and Dodgers have been in discussions with Coco Crisp to play left field.  The 32-year-old hasn't played left regularly since 2005 with the Indians.  Crisp hit .264/.314/.379 in 583 plate appearances for the Athletics this year, his healthiest season since '07.
• Free agent Prince Fielder is said to be looking for a ten-year deal.  We asked our readers how many years they think Fielder will wind up getting.  More than 27,000 of you weighed in on the poll with most readers seeing the slugger getting either six or seven years.  Just 4.52% of MLBTR readers believe that the Scott Boras client will land a ten-year pact.
• David Ortiz, Francisco Rodriguez, and Kelly Johnson accepted their teams' offers of arbitration last week, making them signed players for 2012.  On Monday, Tim Dierkes talked to a team executive, a former agency employee, and MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz about the salaries Ortiz, Rodriguez, and Johnson might receive.
• After the dust from the winter meetings settled, Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball talk from around the web in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• This week, MLB clubs non-tendered 29 players in advance of the deadline and we've updated our Free Agent Tracker to include its newest members. 
• Did you miss out on Tim's weekly chat?  No worries, you can read over the transcript right here.
• In October, MLB agents told MLBTR that they expect Yu Darvish to require a financial commitment in excess of $100MM, including the posting fee and contract.  This week we asked our readers to predict which club will win the bidding for him.  18% of you said Darvish would wind up with Toronto while the Rangers finished in a close second with roughly 15% of the vote.  We continue to wait on word of who submitted the winning bid.

Running down the original content from the MLBTR Writing Team this week, which was a bit lighter than usual thanks to the news-heavy Winter Meetings week…

• Ben Nicholson-Smith helped interpret the always-entertaining Scott Boras' quotes on his client, Prince Fielder.
• Mark Polishuk polled MLBTR readers, asking where they thought Fielder would sign now that he's officially the top hitting free agent on the market. Over 36,000 people voted, and the Cubs landed 29.31% of the votes while the Mariners were a distant second at 13.74%.
• Mike Axisa provided your weekly look at the best of the baseball blogosphere in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• Mike also examined the large number of former first round picks that were involved in transactions this week at the Winter Meetings.
• Lastly, Ben took a long look at how the Albert Pujols signing will shape the rest of the action that we'll see this offseason.

Here's a look back at the original reporting and analysis produced by MLBTR's writing team this week..

• MLBTR was the first to learn of Wily Mo Pena's multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with Japan's Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.  In eight major league seasons, Pena has a .250/.303/.445 slash line with 84 homers.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith asked some of baseball's top executives what they felt was the hardest-to-obtain commodity.  Pirates GM Neal Huntington, Mets GM Sandy Alderson, and Orioles GM Dan Duquette all weighed in.
• Looking for cliffnotes on the new collective bargaining agreement?  Don't worry, we've got you covered with a post on the CBA's details and ten highlights from the new agreement.
• Mike Axisa asked MLBTR readers which big name free agent will sign next and Mark Buehrle received the most votes with 3,805 (21%).  David Ortiz and C.J. Wilson weren't far behind with 18% and 16% of the vote, respectively.
• MLBTR's GM Candidate series continued as Ben Nicholson-Smith interviewed Peter Woodfork, a senior VP in MLB’s baseball operations department.
• Kelly Johnson’s free agent stock has improved considerably in the past week and it has nothing to do with his ability to contribute on a baseball field, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith.
• Francisco Cordero became even more attractive on the open market when his Type A status was modified into a Type B by the new collective bargaining agreement, writes Mark Polishuk.
• Twelve months ago, Bartolo Colon was nothing more than an afterthought.  Now, however, the pitcher could get $3-4MM guaranteed on a one-year deal with incentives, Mike Axisa writes.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith gave his take on what we learned from this week's arbitration offers.  Here's a look at some of the more interesting cases from this week.
• On Thursday, Mark Polishuk revisited the MLBTR writing staff's preseason picks.  This season's playoff teams and award winners proved to be extremely hard to predict.  Miraculously, I had the best luck of anyone as I correctly picked six out of the 17 possible categories. 
• This week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In features analysis of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, discussions on the MVP award, and an examination of the Athletics' rebuilding process.
• I took a look at the Braves' pitching surplus and wondered if they might use it to improve in other areas.
• If you missed Tim Dierkes' weekly chat, you can check out the transcript right here.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith took a look at how the top AL MVP finishers and the top NL MVP finishers were acquired.
• Thirteen years ago this week, Bernie Williams re-signed with the Yankees after nearly joining the rival Red Sox that offseason.  Williams' deal was worth $87.5MM over seven years.
• Aramis Ramirez's free agency seemingly came at a great time, writes Tim Dierkes.  Tim writes that he can picture three years and as much as $42MM for Ramirez, but at this point it's unclear where that might come from.
• On Thursday, more than 71% of MLBTR readers polled said that Bobby Valentine would be the next manager of the Red Sox.  We also asked where MLBTR readers believe that C.J. Wilson will land and less than 10% see him re-signing with the Rangers.
• While the Marlins are busy trying to lure free agents to their new ballpark in Miami, they also have decisions to make about some players they currently employ. One of those players is non-tender candidate Chris Volstad, writes Mike Axisa.

Here's a look back at the original analysis and reporting churned out by the MLBTR writing team over the past week. We'll begin with the GM Meetings in Milwaukee, where our own Ben Nicholson-Smith was reporting …

• MLB executive VP for baseball operations Joe Torre discussed roster sizes, the use of instant replay in baseball, and realignment.
• Cardinals GM John Mozeliak ruled out the possibility of the Redbirds pursuing Prince Fielder.
• The Angels were asking around about catchers, according to Ben, who also spoke with new Angels GM Jerry Dipoto about the Halos' plan for the position.
• New Orioles GM Dan Duquette told MLBTR that the O's will likely be bargain hunting for free-agent starters this offseason.
• Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski discussed Justin Verlander's Cy Young-worthy 2011, his preference to keep Ryan Raburn's bat in the lineup, and the odds of Wilson Betemit re-signing with Detroit. 
• Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine told MLBTR about Texas' bullpen, the plan for Neftali Feliz, and Mitch Moreland.
• A handful of GMs told MLBTR that they were conducting their offseasons normally despite the uncertainty surrounding the then-unfinished CBA.
• Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos told MLBTR that the Blue Jays are seeking a "front-to-mid-rotation" starter but that they won't make such a move in haste.
• Pirates GM Neal Huntington talked about signing Rod Barajas and addressed the possibility of re-signing Ronny Cedeno.

 And the rest of our standard original work:

• Tim Dierkes wrote up a list of more than 50 players who are candidates to be non-tendered, thus making them free agents.
• Tim polled MLBTR readers about the size of Jose Reyes' next contract. 
• Tim hosted the weekly MLBTR chat. Click here for the transcript.
• Mike Axisa dutifully rounded up some of the best pieces from around baseball's blogosphere. Among the hot topics: a proposal for the Mets to retain Jose Reyes, Matt Kemp's new contract, and MLB's realignment.

Time to take a look back at some of the original content produced by the MLBTR Team over the past week:

• Tim Dierkes analzyed the offseason needs of the Diamondbacks, Brewers, and Phillies to complete this year's version of MLBTR's Offseason Outlook series.
• Tim also ran down the trade and free agent markets for both starting pitchers and right-handed relievers.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith analyzed Johnny Damon's free agent stock and did the same for Chris Capuano, while Tim had the honors for Taiwanese lefty Wei-Yin Chen.
• Ben gave definitions of all the stats that readers will see most frequently when reading MLBTR on a day-to-day basis.
• Ben also used Baseball America's executive database to provide MLBTR readers with a list of when and where the current group of MLB general managers got their first position as a GM.
• TIm was at the helm for this week's MLBTR Chat.
• Mike Axisa provided a rundown of the best baseball content in the blogosphere in this week's edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• MLBTR's Free Agent Prediction contest is now in full swing, so be sure to track your progress on the leaderboard.  Currently, 16 of the 5,020 contestants are batting 1.000.

Here's a look at the original reporting and analysis from the MLBTR writing team this week..

• This week, we announced our first-ever MLBTR free agent prediciton contest.  The contest is open now and runs until midnight central time tonight.  Get your picks in now for a chance at $1,000 in cash prizes to be distributed among the top five finishers.
• Tim released his own predictions for the Top 50 Free Agents of the 2011 offseason.  You can check out the entire list of available free agents here, and you can filter by position and signing team with our free agent tracker here.
• Matt Swartz has developed a very accurate model for MLBTR to project arbitration salaries.  There are almost 200 remaining arbitration eligible players and we have projections for all of them.
• MLBTR obtained the official Elias rankings for this offseason and this list includes all unsigned ranked free agents.  Eddie Bajek reverse-engineered the Elias rankings for MLBTR and was right on every free agent except for Kelly Johnson and Joel Zumaya.
• Our Offseason Outlook series rolled on with a look at the two-time defending American League champion Texas Rangers.  We also gave our take on the 2011 World Champion Cardinals and the Braves.
• Lots of teams including the Red Sox, Twins, Athletics, Cubs, and Pirates could explore the market for right fielders this year, which mostly consists of a variety of free agents.
• Need a refresher on the MLBTR commenting system?  We've got you covered.
• Determining an MLB player's representation was once a challenge for baseball fans, but MLBTR's agency database changed everything.  We've compiled agency data for nearly 1,500 players, mainly through regular contact with dozens of agencies.  Check out MLBTR's agency database today!
• On the first official week of the offseason, Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball talk from around the web in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• In the last three years, Twitter has become an essential part of MLB coverage.  Nearly every baseball writer has a Twitter account, and the majority of news is broken through this medium.  If you're not already, follow MLBTradeRumors on Twitter today!
• Did you miss our Wednesday afternoon chat?  That's alright, you can check out the transcript right here.  If you want to improve your chances of having your question answered by Tim Dierkes or Ben Nicholson-Smith, then take a look at Tim's list of tips.
• Supply always seems to exceed demand for designated hitters. Only 14 jobs exist, which tends to create a late-developing buyers' market.  We took a look ahead to this offseason's available and potentially available DHs.
• Want to get in touch with us here at MLBTR?  Contacting Tim Dierkes and/or the MLBTR writing team is quite easy.  Just use our contact form, and select either "Tips, Rumors, Trades, Signings" or "Business Inquiries."  If you'd like a reply, you'll have to put in a valid email address.

Lots of original content from the MLBTR team this week as the offseason approaches. Here's a quick rundown:

• MLBTR unveiled its new Free Agent Tracker to help you keep track of all of the exciting action this offseason.
• Tim Dierkes looked at the free agent and trade markets for first basemen, second basemen and center fielders, while Ben Nicholson-Smith looked ahead to the market at shortstop, third base and left field. 
• Tim and Ben provided offseason outlooks for the Yankees, Tigers, Reds, Indians, Red Sox, Giants, and Dodgers.
• Tim polled five agents and a team executive on Yu Darvish's posting fee and contract and came to the conclusion that signing Darvish would mean a $100MM+ commitment.
• Tim provided quotes from new Cubs GM Theo Epstein's press conference, while Ben did the same for Ben Cherington of the Red Sox.
• Tim learned which players became Super Twos — including David Price and Rick Porcello. Ben explained which players just missed the cut.
• Mike Axisa collected and summarized the best of the blogosphere in another edition of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• Howard Megdal took a look at some teams that are losing the best player they've ever had at a position, including the Cardinals (Albert Pujols), Mets (Jose Reyes), and Phillies (Jimmy Rollins).
• Brace yourself for Howard's second piece of the week, as he runs down the spookiest transactions in baseball history with Halloween just around the corner.
• MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz covered arbitration salaries in a three-part series that began with an overview of his projection model, followed by his insight on hitters' projected arbitration salaries and pitchers' projected arbitration salaries. Matt's work has been a huge boost to MLBTR and his posts this week make for fantastic, fascinating reads.
• Tim was at the wheel for the weekly MLBTR Chat.
• MLBTR's upgraded iPhone app is now available.

Here's look back at the original pieces we published here at MLBTR this week..

• This week we completed our analysis of the arbitration eligible players for all 30 teams, over 200 players in total.  You can check out the complete series right here.  Some of the biggest names in the series include Tim Lincecum, Matt Kemp, Cole Hamels, Hunter Pence, Clayton Kershaw, David Price, and Jacoby Ellsbury.  
• We’ve been bringing you closer to the those who were identified by their peers as potential Major League GMs with a series of interviews.  Recently, Tim Dierkes caught up with A.J. Preller, the Rangers' senior director of player personnel.
• The upcoming class of free agents figures to present an interesting study in the way teams are evaluating relievers these days, writes Dan Mennella.  Mennella looks at this winter's available closers and how they were used in 2011.
• Ben Nicholson-Smith brought us the service time breakdown for the Angels' Mike Trout.  If the Angels want to keep Trout under their control for an extra year, they could option him to the minor leagues for the season's first three months.  In doing so, they'd ensure that Trout doesn't pick up more than 88 days of service in 2011.
• Non-tender candidate Hong-Chih Kuo went from being one of the most dominant bullpen arms in the game last September to taking about retirement this September, writes Mike Axisa.
• Tim Dierkes examined the free agent and trade market for catchers this winter.  The Rays, Angels, Pirates, and Twins may seek help at catcher this winter, and none of the available players should be expensive to acquire.
• Do you prefer your MLBTR fix to be limited to only your favorite team?  Don't worry, we've got you covered.  Check out the links to our team Facebook, Twitter, and RSS pages and feeds.
• Mike Axisa rounded up the best baseball talk from around the web in this week's installment of Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
• Diamondbacks lefty Joe Saunders sounds like a non-tender candidate, based on comments GM Kevin Towers made this week.  We asked you to weigh in on whether or not Saunders would be offered a contract in 2012 and votes were split right down the middle.
• The Rays have plenty of pitching depth to work with this winter and may use that to upgrade their offense.  We also gave our Offseason Outlook on the Pirates, White Sox, Angels, Mets, Blue Jays, and Rockies.
• Finally, if you missed out on our Wednesday chat, you can check out the transcript right here.